A story about the permission, vulnerability and challenge inherent in creating an interdisciplinary middle school program. Preston Hickert is a teacher from Kansas City and he joins Natalie to share his story of “playing the mud” to learn with his students.
Show Notes:
- Despite originally pursuing journalism and film, Preston ended up bringing a passion for storytelling to the classroom as a teacher. (6:10)
- Exploring the magic of the middle years. (11:30)
- High Tech High was the inciting incident for an interdisciplinary approach to middle school that develops human skills. (17:05)
- Are we rescuing kids from challenge? (24:00)
- Playing the mud and embracing co-creation and uncertainty. (26:10)
- What evidence might capture the story of student learning? (32:30)
- New challenges emerging several years into the project. (40:35)
- Educators need to learn by doing and embrace vulnerability to model authentic learning. (43:34)
- The purpose of education. (51:50)
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Email: hello@educrushpod.com
